Possible LA varient PEACH [Archive] - Wizards Community

Possible LA varient PEACH [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
God of Slivers
08-12-07, 02:13 PM I've been trying to come up with a way for the players to play as LA races without being left behind at higher levels (especially casters) and I came up with this idea. Please let me know what you think.

A character with an LA gains experience as if it were its new ECL but only requires as much experience to level up as their HD determine.

Example: A Drow wizard/1 would gain experience from encounters as if he were a 3rd level character (from the drows +2 LA). However, he would only need 1000xp to advance to the next level instead of the normal 6000xp (to level 2 as opposed to level 4).

It would be a good idea to also rule that the ECL for the character cannot be higher than the starting level for the group (so they would start a few levels behind) as to not unbalance the party.

This could probably even be combined with the LA buyoff rules in UA without problem. So, what do the boards think?
DrMorganes
08-12-07, 02:42 PM I'm confused...

Allowing the PC to gain XP as you described essentially eliminates LA entirely. If you're eliminating LA, why worry about ECL?
God of Slivers
08-12-07, 03:01 PM The character with the LA will advance more slowly because they gain less xp per encounter than other party members. Lets say that we have a four person party all at 10th level. One of the characters is a drow and has an ecl of 12. If the party defeats a CR 10 encounter the three "regular" characters each earn 750XP while the drow earns only 450XP because he is considered 12th level for the purposes of earning xp. This slows down the advancement of the drow for being more powerful than standard races without (IMHO) crippling him at higher levels.
Tedronai
08-14-07, 10:06 PM Compare at ECL 3, though, for the most contrast.

The majority of characters will require 3000 XP to gain another level (as normal). That drow, however, will level after only 1000 XP, likely after only 2 encounters, and will level again soon after the rest of the party does the same.
God of Slivers
08-14-07, 11:53 PM Assuming he survives those fights than yes that is true. Is it really a problem though? The drow abilities become less usefull as you increase in level, so they should be able to close the level gap a little bit to stay competitive. It's not like he will ever catch up though, he will always be behind the rest of the party. Besides, at the low levels is the only time you will see faster level advancement, and it is also when characters with LA eating up half or more of their ECL are at their most fragile, so I think it works out okay.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that for every level difference between CR and class level there is a 20% XP difference. So assuming that the drows ECL is the same as the rest of the party (it would become more than that that in the example you used) he is only earning 60% of the normal XP for his class levels. Would you give up 40% (or more) of your XP to gain the racial abilities of a drow?

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
God of Slivers 08-12-07, 02:13 PM	I've been trying to come up with a way for the players to play as LA races without being left behind at higher levels (especially casters) and I came up with this idea. Please let me know what you think. A character with an LA gains experience as if it were its new ECL but only requires as much experience to level up as their HD determine. Example: A Drow wizard/1 would gain experience from encounters as if he were a 3rd level character (from the drows +2 LA). However, he would only need 1000xp to advance to the next level instead of the normal 6000xp (to level 2 as opposed to level 4). It would be a good idea to also rule that the ECL for the character cannot be higher than the starting level for the group (so they would start a few levels behind) as to not unbalance the party. This could probably even be combined with the LA buyoff rules in UA without problem. So, what do the boards think?
DrMorganes 08-12-07, 02:42 PM	I'm confused... Allowing the PC to gain XP as you described essentially eliminates LA entirely. If you're eliminating LA, why worry about ECL?
God of Slivers 08-12-07, 03:01 PM	The character with the LA will advance more slowly because they gain less xp per encounter than other party members. Lets say that we have a four person party all at 10th level. One of the characters is a drow and has an ecl of 12. If the party defeats a CR 10 encounter the three "regular" characters each earn 750XP while the drow earns only 450XP because he is considered 12th level for the purposes of earning xp. This slows down the advancement of the drow for being more powerful than standard races without (IMHO) crippling him at higher levels.
Tedronai 08-14-07, 10:06 PM	Compare at ECL 3, though, for the most contrast. The majority of characters will require 3000 XP to gain another level (as normal). That drow, however, will level after only 1000 XP, likely after only 2 encounters, and will level again soon after the rest of the party does the same.
God of Slivers 08-14-07, 11:53 PM	Assuming he survives those fights than yes that is true. Is it really a problem though? The drow abilities become less usefull as you increase in level, so they should be able to close the level gap a little bit to stay competitive. It's not like he will ever catch up though, he will always be behind the rest of the party. Besides, at the low levels is the only time you will see faster level advancement, and it is also when characters with LA eating up half or more of their ECL are at their most fragile, so I think it works out okay. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that for every level difference between CR and class level there is a 20% XP difference. So assuming that the drows ECL is the same as the rest of the party (it would become more than that that in the example you used) he is only earning 60% of the normal XP for his class levels. Would you give up 40% (or more) of your XP to gain the racial abilities of a drow?